Chapter Twenty-Four

Arabella

A rabella's tears had long since dried up as she stared down at her feet, which were now two big sausages just like her hands which hung above her, bound to the wall in iron chains. She was turning into Empusa. She wondered if her soul would fade away once the demon crone took over, or would she live in the shell of this creature's body? Forever tortured while looking out at the scorched world through an evil demon's eyes.

The crone cackled in her mind, whispering how she couldn't wait to eat the children that shared the cell with them. Great goddesses, she was living in hell. During the past few hours, she had time to reflect on her life. She'd lived a selfish, spoiled life as the niece of a duke, abusing servants while ruled by vanity, thinking her beauty entitled her to act however she pleased. Soon, the last vestiges of her beauty would be gone, and her outer appearance would be a reflection of the rotten soul beneath. She deserved this.

She ran her tongue over her dry mouth, hoping it was thirst that had made her lips and tongue swollen and not that her face was turning into Empusa, too. Though what difference did it make? It was only a matter of time. Might as well happen sooner, so long as her soul could sink into oblivion afterward.

No, my dear, Empusa hissed in her mind. I shall make you watch as I feed on your sorrow.

Shut up, she snapped, feeling as if she was being swallowed by a chasm of rage.

When the crone laughed in response, she did her best to shut her out. Her gaze kept drifting to the girls as one struggled to get the Tau stone collar off the other. The demon mistress said the children belonged to Tarianya Avias. That witch had been the bane of Arabella's existence and had destroyed Arabella's chances with Helian. Though she wanted to be glad Tarianya's daughters were the demon's captives, she felt only pity for the children. After all this time, had Arabella finally developed empathy for others? The irony wasn't lost on her, for now that she had no power, she couldn't help them.

A beast wailed in the distance, its cries pitiful enough to break Arabella's blackened heart. She wondered what sort of monster it was, for the cry sounded like a dragon's, though not powerful enough to rattle her bones.

The girl who'd been trying to get the collar off finally cried out and crawled over to Arabella. She blinked up at her with luminous silvery blue eyes, and Arabella's breath caught in her throat. She had Helian's eyes.

The child stood and tugged on her robe. "Excuse me, can you help me get that collar off my sister?"

"Does it look like I can help you?" Arabella rattled her chains, giving the girl a withering look.

She thumbed toward her sister, her twin by the looks of it. "Aurora can teleport. If you get the collar off her, we can escape."

Except for their eyes, they both looked so much like their mother, with dark hair and smooth olive skin. They could've become beauties when they grew up. Arabella doubted they'd live more than a few more days. As much as she wanted to hate the children, she couldn't, though it mattered not. She couldn't help them anyway.

She heaved a groan, her shoulders falling. "I can't help you, child."

"You can." The girl stumbled to her feet. "You just have to believe in yourself." The child smiled, revealing sharp canines. "I'm Ember, by the way."

Arabella swallowed, relieved somehow to know these children were shifters, which meant they weren't Helian's children.

"I'm not myself." She rattled her chains, nodding toward the big, bloated sausages that were once beautiful, delicate hands. "I'm demon possessed."

Ember gave her a curious look. "Are you the Fae who gave Uncle Helian a demon?"

She gasped, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. "He's demon possessed?" No. Not Helian!

"Not anymore," Ember answered. "Our Aunt Shiri got it out of him."

Aunt Shiri? Tarianya's twin? "She can do that?"

She eagerly nodded. "She put the demon in Enso."

Arabella swallowed, working hard to push out the words through her dry throat. "Who's Enso?"

"A wyvern."

A wyvern? Was it wise to give a powerful beast demon powers?

Ember blinked at her, strangely not looking the slightest bit afraid as her gaze drifted to Arabella's hands. "Maybe if you help us escape, Aunt Shiri can get your demon out."

Elements, was this child serious? "I-I don't know how."

"You do." Ember jutted a finger toward Arabella's chest. "Use Empusa to remove my sister's collar and bust open the door."

Arabella's mouth fell open. How did the child know her demon name?

"And please hurry," Ember continued, her voice cracking with emotion, "before the bad demon eats Triss."

"Triss?" Arabella asked. "I thought you said your sister was named Aurora."

"Not her." Ember pouted. "Our dragon."

"You have a dragon with you?" The roars she heard earlier sounded too weak to be a monster that big. The dragon could help them escape, if it didn't eat Arabella first. Then again, she'd prefer death by dragon to living out eternity in a demon shell.

No! Empusa cried. I won't let you.

Ember batted her lashes, her mouth set in a serious line. "Believe in yourself," she said, sounding far too mature for a child so small. "Think of something happy. That will strengthen your magic."

Arabella closed her eyes and recalled Helian's smiling face the day he'd saved her from the frog that had crawled between her skirts. It was her favorite memory of Helian, the moment she realized she wanted to be his bride. She recalled the feel of his warm, calloused hand encompassing hers. His touch had electrified her in a way her uncle's never had, as did his soothing voice and kind smile as he placed the frog outside. She'd never known a Fae to be so handsome, brave, and kind all at once. The thought of her hand in his warmed her veins and expanded her chest with a surge of power that she hadn't felt since her wedding day when she'd almost defeated Tarianya Avias.

She slowly straightened, tugging against her chains as that power rose up in her throat and thickened her voice. "Empusa!" she bellowed. "Release me from these chains!"

A witch's cackling cry, and then strength surged through her as she ripped her chains from the walls. Heaving a groan, she dug into her cuffs and felt like a giant crumbling clay as she ripped them from her wrists and ankles.

The hooded mage chained up beside her mumbled a cry and rattled his chains, but no way was she freeing him. Not only would he slow them down, but he got what he deserved for serving that evil demon.

She crossed over to Aurora lying in the hay, blinking up at her with wide, frightened eyes. The collar was wrapped so tightly around the child's throat, Arabella wondered how she could breathe. Careful not to snap Aurora's neck, Arabella unsheathed a claw from one of her bloated fingers and sliced open the leather band.

The child gasped and scrambled away, tumbling into her twin's arms.

Arabella's feet felt as heavy as blocks of concrete as she stomped up to the children. "Okay, now teleport us out of here."

Ember shook her head. "We have to save Triss before the bad demon eats her!" She jutted a finger toward the iron bars of their cell. "Use Empusa. Please!"

Arabella didn't see the need to free the dragon when she had a child with teleporting powers, but then the dragon wailed again, and a crack formed in the iron casing around Arabella's heart.

The child clasped her hands in a prayer pose. "Please, please save Triss!"

Arabella blew out a deep breath, knowing she'd regret this decision later, and then she grasped the bars of their cell, stretching them open until she and the girls could easily fit through.

The girls cast pitying looks at the moaning mage chained to the wall behind them.

"Don't pity him." Arabella urged them forward. "He's a cruel demon, too." Arabella failed to mention that she had been a cruel bitch up until a few moments ago.

The girls stoically nodded.

Ember surged ahead while holding onto Aurora's hand. "This way!"

Aurora stumbled after her sister, and Arabella worried the child was ill after wearing that suffocating collar.

"How do you know where to go?" Arabella whispered at their backs.

"My friends are leading me," Ember whispered back over her shoulder.

Friends? Arabella wasn't sure if she wanted to know who these friends were, though she suspected the child must be a spirit talker.

Dread pumped through Arabella's veins as they crept down one dark, barren tunnel and into another. Triss was hunched over in a cramped cell, her snout and legs bound in chains, while guarded by two demon fire mages. There were a bunch of long, sharp cutting tools on a nearby table along with several spears and the biggest cauldron Arabella had ever seen. Obviously, they were preparing to butcher and stew the dragon. She was a baby, as far as Arabella could tell, and not much bigger than a horse. Arabella had the feeling there was an angry dragon mama out there somewhere ready to tear down the cavern walls to get to her baby, and she certainly didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

The mages gave a start when they saw them, fire sprouting from their palms. Arabella hit the mages with a blast, and they flew against the bars of the dragon's cage, their heads making audible crack s before they slumped to the ground. Triss jerked back with a whimper, then let out a muffled howl when she saw the twins.

The twins fell against the bars of the dragon's cage, rubbing her horned snout while whispering soothing words into her ear.

Ember turned a pleading gaze on Arabella. "Triss is scared. Please help her."

Arabella used Empusa to stretch open the bars and climbed inside. She frowned at the chains binding the dragon's snout and paws. Though her bloated fingers were stronger than before, digging into the bindings was agony, and she feared her fingers would pop. Biting on her lip, she grunted and cursed while breaking open chains that were at least ten times thicker than the last ones. Sweat pooled on her brow and dripped down her crepey skin as she groaned and heaved while stretching the chains wider. Finally, the snout and one paw were free, but she still had three more to go. She put all her energy into breaking open the remaining bindings and was almost finished stretching the last one when an angry cackle sounded outside the cell.

Arabella spun around, but not fast enough. She saw black raven wings and red, glowing eyes before she was hit with a blast of heat that fried her skin. She cried out in agony before throwing out her arms, encapsulating them in a curse chamber. She fell to her knees, struggling for breath as her arms and flesh felt like they were being boiled alive. Her only consolation was the children had hidden behind their dragon's wing and appeared unharmed.

"You foolish witches!" The demon mistress cawed as she circled their cocoon. "I shall have my mage burn you all alive! You will taste delicious barbecued and dipped in blood."

The girls cried, clinging to their dragon.

"Just one more chain," Ember pleaded, nodding toward Triss's back paw.

Arabella fell on top of the dragon's chain, pulling it apart with a cry of rage. Arabella's chest felt ready to split open, but the chain finally broke free.

Ember shook her sister's shoulders. "Get us out of here, Aurora!"

The demon mistress's angry caws echoed around them as Aurora held her hands out to Arabella and Ember and fell against her dragon's leg. She closed her eyes, looking lost in concentration while grunting and groaning, but they didn't move from that cell.

Finally, she opened her eyes, her brow furrowed. "I can't."

Arabella's heart plummeted. "Why?"

"I don't know." She looked down at her hands as if they were foreign objects. "My magic isn't working." Then her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Oh no! I remember one of the bad mages made me swallow something. I think it was another stone."

Ember shook her sister's shoulders, desperately searching her eyes. "You have to throw it up."

Aurora's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know how."

Gritting her teeth, Arabella heaved herself to her feet while ignoring the agonizing throbbing that pulsed deep into the marrow of her bones. She glanced at her blackened skin, realizing she was still being cooked alive. She forced herself to ignore the pain, knowing she was their last chance at escaping.

"Stay behind me, children," she spoke through clenched teeth while facing their enemy through the gray, translucent bubble. "I will fight our way out of here."

Though she was beyond exhausted, she dug deep into her well of magic, summoning every last ounce of energy as she prepared to face down her nemesis. This time, she didn't recall Helian's tender smile while summoning her magic. Instead, she thought of those sweet little girls with sharp canines. She would defeat the demon mistress for them, or she would go down in flames trying.

With a roar, she popped the bubble and called on Empusa to destroy her enemies. She flung her magic at the demon mistress and her fire mage, blowing them both back, slamming them into the slate wall behind them. Their skulls cracked when they hit, and they crumpled to the ground.

Arabella wanted to destroy them while they were vulnerable, but she'd used the last of her magic.

She was vaguely aware of the children helping her climb onto the dragon's back. She did her best to cling to the beast's scales with her bloated fingers as they ran out of the cell. The clomping of the dragon's big paws echoed through the tunnels as they made their escape.

Ember screamed when another demon fire mage flew at them.

Arabella tried to summon more magic, but then he flew back, tumbling feet over head and slamming into a wall after he was struck in the forehead by a rock. She looked down at Aurora, who flashed a wolfish grin while clutching a slingshot in her hand. What a clever girl!

When they emerged from the cavern, breathing in musty outside air, Arabella couldn't contain her laughter. She'd done it. She'd escaped, all thanks to these amazing children. But then her joy gave way to an overwhelming fatigue, and she went boneless on the dragon's back, her sausage hands and feet hanging limply while they raced across vines and through thick brush.

"Fly," she murmured. "Before the forest eats us."

Helian

AFTER FLYING FOR THE entire day, we made it to the other side of the Periculian Mountains just as the sun was starting to set. I swiped sweat from my brow, thinking it odd that the air was warmer than usual for spring. I kept checking on Tari. After using all that magic to make a portal, she looked drained. Dark circles framed her eyes, and her complexion was far too pale. Worry gnawed a hole in my gut as I thought about my nieces' fate. Tari and Ash had stricken looks in their eyes, both hunched over as if they had blades wedged in their chests. Finn and Nikkos probably had no idea what had happened to the girls or that we were on our way to save them. Hopefully we weren't too late.

Nox flew past the base of the mountain, and I noticed most of its tall trees were gone, leaving behind a graveyard of wide stumps. Many of those trees had been twice the height of giants. Who had cut them all down, and how? The only creatures capable of cutting down those trees would've been the giants, but I never recalled them taking axes to so many trees.

Nox continued to fly ahead toward the edge of the Werewood Forest. The trees here looked the same as before, towering black monsters with crooked limbs that resembled knobby claws and thorny vines that encompassed the entire forest like tangled twine.

This way, Nox called. The entrance to the demon mistress's underground cavern.

Odd. I thought the entrance was at the base of the mountain. A foreboding feeling came over me as we followed the demon wyvern.

Do you trust him? Radnor asked me.

No, I answered bluntly, but it's not like we have a choice.

Nox continued to fly over thick, dark vegetation, thorny vines twisting around plants and strangling trees, a battle scene of slow-moving evil, choking out all other life.

Radnor pulled back when Nox dove for a narrow clearing that looked almost like a crack in the center of a painting. How do we know he's not leading us to our demise? Radnor asked.

We don't, I said, feeling less sure about the blood oath, though the others were too focused on saving the children to question Nox's loyalty as they followed the wyvern.

I don't trust Nox, I projected to Tari and Ash. We should hold back.

I'm not waiting, Tari answered. Every second delayed could cost our children their lives.

Dread leached into my veins. Something was wrong. I could sense it in the marrow of my bones. So could a misstep.

Ash's growl echoed in my skull. We don't have time for fear when our children need us.

I swallowed at the way he emphasized ‘our children,' a dig because the girls weren't mine. That didn't mean I didn't care about them or the rest of my family. I'm staying up here to watch for threats.

Do what you want, Ash answered. The wyvern wouldn't dare defy the blood oath .

He would if he found a way to break it, I said . Though I couldn't identify what exactly was wrong, I had a dark, foreboding feeling we should be extra cautious.

We circled low over the trees, watching for any signs of trouble.

Nox landed, tucking his wings behind him while peering up at us. Come down, Prince.

I shook my head. Not yet.

A tremor coursed through me when Isa landed with Tari and Shiri on her back. My brother and Bea and Shiri's mates landed beside them. The other wyverns landed on the tops of the trees, clinging to their spindly branches.

Nox's eyes flared red before he threw back his head and let out a terrifying squawk that reverberated through the air.

Isa snapped at Nox as he jumped into the sky.

What are you doing? I demanded as Radnor flew lower circles around them.

Nox pumped his wings until he was level with Radnor. Alerting the demons.

"Get out of there! It's a trap!!" I yelled to everyone below.

Radnor blew a stream of fire at Nox, but the wyvern easily dodged it. We lurched, and Radnor cried out when a thick vine shot up from the forest and latched around his leg. He blew a stream of fire at the vine, and it slunk back to the ground. The others weren't so lucky. Dozens of tendrils had shot up from the air and snatched wyverns from their trees. The wyverns cried and kicked, aggressively flapping their wings before they were dragged beneath a canopy of mossy leaves, their voices suddenly silenced. Only Bea was lucky enough to fly away unharmed.

Isa let out an agonized roar, and I barely had time to grab the pommel before Radnor landed hard on top of a mountain of vines. My heart leapt into my throat. Those thorny vines had overtaken Isa, digging into her tail and scales while swiftly wrapping around her. Ignoring the thorns that dug into his paws, Radnor ripped vines off Isa with his teeth. My family was buried in foliage that swept over them like a rising tide, dousing the mages' fires.

My heart thundered in my ears as I hacked at vines with my sword while desperately trying to reach my family.

A blinding white light, and the vines fell away, revealing my brother and Shiri's mates protectively hovered around Tari and Shiri. The mages were covered in bloody cuts and welts, and Ash had shifted into a giant wolfish beast with fur matted with blood. White magic leached from Tari's fingertips as her chest heaved. Blackened trees hovered over me, their long, spindly branches like ghouls reaching into a crypt. Radnor nudged Isa, trying to get her to stand while also swatting away broken vines that had left her wings in tatters. No way was she flying out of here with those injuries. I slashed through vines with my sword as they made their hasty retreat, slithering away like snakes.

But then a new threat emerged as a black wave rushed toward us like a swiftly moving tide. I shook my head, my eyes adjusting to the low evening light. And that's when I saw thousands of red, glowing eyes.

"Where did Nox go?" Drae called out.

"I don't know, but we have bigger problems." I stood between the dragons, backing up while the creatures advanced toward us, thousands, perhaps millions of spiders about the size of my hand.

Drae let out a roar, and then the spiders froze. I blinked, an odd sensation in my head as if time had stopped still and restarted. Had it? Suddenly, the spiders were moving again. I looked over at Drae, who was hunched over, panting as if he'd just flown across Caldaria. A ring of fire encircled us. Had Drae done that? Shiri had told us he could stop time, but I hadn't believed it until now.

A deafening scream pierced the air, and the ground split open. I lost my footing and fell to my knees when a giant, circular chasm widened between us and the spiders, leaving the dragons and us on an island in the center of the forest. Hissing spiders scrambled away from the fire at the edge of the chasm. Shiri hunched beside Drae, panting as if she'd just battled a giant. Had she split the earth open? Just when I thought we were saved, the spiders crawled over one another, hitting the flames with a sticky substance until the fire subsided. Then they shot strands of web across the chasm.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

They were creating a bridge!

Mm. A Fae prince. A deafening chorus of sibilant voices echoed in my head while they crawled across the filament. So tasty. Our mistress will be pleased.

Radnor jumped in front of Isa, unleashing his fire.

I ran to Tari, shielding her while Ash guarded her back.

I'm running out of magic, Tari projected to Ash and me, and it's slow to work. She nodded toward her sister. And I think Shiri has run out.

I waved my sword at the fire mages as the spiders advanced. "Get them out of here!"

"We can't leave Isa!" Shiri screamed.

Drae ignored her and swept her into his arms before shooting into the air. Blaze followed in a blur, taking Tari with him.

I knew there was no way Radnor was leaving Isa, and I wasn't leaving Radnor. Ash stood by my side, his wide chest heaving as he released a howl while raking the air with razor-sharp claws.

The spiders rushed across their web bridge toward us, devouring the forest, leaving nothing but skeletal trees and the remains of the wyverns in their wake. Great goddess! We were going to be eaten alive! Radnor roared, hitting them with his fire, but there were far too many for him to destroy them all.

The spiders were almost upon us when they suddenly vaporized, popping like corn kernels as they were hit with a torrential downfall. I looked up, expecting a thundercloud, but, no, it was only my mate, dripping magic down on them. They made a hasty retreat back across the webbing, though the magic quickly washed over them, destroying their bridge while fanning out and turning the rest of the forest to ash and smoke.

A roar that sounded more like a whimper echoed above, and I looked up to see Triss flying toward us, Nox following not far behind her. I blinked hard, unable to comprehend what I was seeing.

Save her! Isa nudged Radnor before collapsing onto the ground with a groan, blood pooling around her tattered wings.

I'm going to rip him in two! Radnor's roar reverberated in my skull.

Don't bite him! I called to my dragon. Or you could get infected!

Radnor leapt into the air, flying straight toward Triss. Bea followed after him, breaking left when Radnor broke hard right and burned Nox with his fire. The wyvern cried out, falling to the earth like a flaming comet.

The dragons and Bea landed on the ash that was once the forest floor. The fire mages landed beside Triss, and Tari and Shiri let out strangled sobs while Ash, still in his beastly wolf form, pulled Ember and Aurora from Triss's back. They held the girls, alternating between hugging and crying.

"Are you hurt?" Tari asked while frantically searching the children for wounds.

Both girls shook their heads. Other than a few bruises and cuts, the girls looked unharmed.

We stood on what looked like the aftermath of a battleground, and as the smoke and fog cleared, I realized my mate had decimated most of the Werewood Forest.

Isa stumbled toward us, collapsing beside Triss with a groan.

Ash let out a warning growl and I raised my sword when I saw a hag on Triss's back. The witch lifted her head, giving me a pleading look, and it took me a moment to realize that hag was Lady Arabella Viggo.

Radnor made a menacing growl and flicked Arabella off Triss's back. She went sprawling onto the ground with a shriek. Triss clomped toward her mother, collapsing on top of Isa while nuzzling her neck.

"Do not move, demon witch!" Shiri called out, her siren voice ringing through the air as she released the girls and bore down on Arabella.

"Don't hurt her!" Aurora cried. "She saved us!"

Tari swore, and I loosened my grip on the sword.

"Please let me up!" Arabella called as she lay sprawled on the ground, her skirts tossed over her knees, revealing huge, swollen legs and blackened skin. What was happening to her? Was she turning into the demon hag I'd seen at our wedding?

"Very well," Shiri said with a flick of the wrist. "I release you from my spell."

Arabella sat up, dusting grime off her gown. That's when I noticed her hideous hands that looked like rotten, bloated sausages that had sat out too long in the sun. It definitely appeared she was turning back into that hag. Knowing Arabella's vanity, she was unable to control the transformation. I shuddered to think what would happen when the hag completely took over.

Tari gaped at Arabella. "You saved my children?"

Arabella grimaced, staring at Tari before quickly looking away. "Yes."

Tari released the children and stalked toward my former betrothed, her hands on her hips. Ash followed close behind, leaving the children with Shiri.

"Why?" There was no mistaking the note of mistrust in Tari's voice.

Arabella wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Because they're innocents."

"Since when did you care about anyone but yourself?" I blurted.

She flinched as if she'd been struck, a solitary tear slipping down her grimy cheek. "Since they were all I had left to live for."

Had the shell around Arabella's blackened heart finally cracked? I seriously doubted it. She probably only helped the children to save herself. "Where is your traitorous uncle?" I demanded. "Or should I say, your lover?"

Her cheeks turned a deep crimson. "The forest ate him."

Bitter laughter escaped my throat. "Can't say he didn't deserve it."

Enough, Tari admonished through thought. We're wasting time.

I arched back when she gave me a dark look. Was she actually defending Arabella?

Tari knelt before the girls, taking their hands. "How did you escape?"

"She knocked the bad demons against the wall." Aurora pointed at Arabella.

Shiri crossed her arms, glaring down at Arabella. "Did you kill them?"

Arabella shook her head. "Probably not, but I slowed them down."

Tari stood, holding tightly to the girls' hands. "Then let's finish them."

"No!" Ash bellowed as he jutted a foot forward. He grasped Tari's shoulder, looking down at her, his glowing wolf eyes narrowed to slits.

The children appeared unafraid as they blinked up at their terrifying father.

"You need to regain your strength," Ash continued, "and we must get the children to safety."

"He's right," I said, refusing to back down when our mate glared at us. The dark circles under her eyes were getting deeper. She'd used too much magic, and I didn't want to risk her health by forcing her to use more.

She released the children, clutching her chest as if I'd thrust a blade through her heart. "So that demon can teleport our children again?"

Shiri picked up the children, balancing one on each hip. Ember rested her head on her aunt's chest while sucking on a thumb.

I crossed over to Tari, taking her in my arms. "We'll figure something out." It felt like I held a statue, for she refused to relax.

Ember lifted her head and pulled her thumb from her mouth. "My friends said the demons can't take us if we wear Tau stones."

I stared at the child as if seeing her for the first time. These little witches truly were precocious. I was proud to call them my nieces, and I thanked the elements for them. Any other children wouldn't have survived captivity in a demon's den.

Tari gasped. "Do you have any Tau stones?" she asked Shiri.

Shiri motioned toward her pocket. "I only have one."

Ash curled his clawed hands, his wolfish features hardening. "We'll get another."

Tari threw up her hands. "So how am I supposed to choose which child to protect?"

"Aurora has a stone in her already," Ember said. "The bad demons made her swallow one."

We looked at Aurora, who visibly swallowed then turned into Shiri, burying her face against her neck.

"It's okay, baby." Shiri rubbed Aurora's back. "We'll get it out of you."

"We need to get it out now." I nodded toward Isa whose wings were too shredded to travel. "We have no other way out of here."

"We must make Aurora throw up the stone," Drae said, his hard gaze focused on Shiri. "Like you did after the demons put a Tau stone in your stew."

Shiri shook her head. "We don't have the herbs to expel the stone."

"I'll get Aurora's stone out," Tari said with a grimace. "Then we'll make her wear it after she teleports us."

I nodded my agreement, though I was unsure if Tari had the strength to expel the stone from Aurora. We didn't have other options, though. We had to leave this place before more monsters found us. I still wondered what we were supposed to do with my demon-possessed former betrothed.

"Teleport us where?" I asked, for we still hadn't decided on a location.

"Abyssus," Blaze and Drae said in unison.

"It's the only place right now where I can guarantee our safety," Drae said as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"What about Fallax?" I asked.

Drae shook his head. "We don't understand how these portals work, but we know the demons have already created one to the Fallax Islands."

"He's right," Blaze said. "We should go to Abyssus. They should have word on what's happening in Thebes and Peloponese. The demons could've already invaded the Fae lands."

"Then we go to Abyssus," Tari said.

The children squealed in delight.

Aurora's fanged smile practically stretched ear to ear. "We get to see Mrs. Euphemia!"

Ember wrapped her arms around herself. "And I get new Bethamys."

Tari bit her lip before holding her hands out to Aurora. "Do you trust me, baby?"

"Yes, Mommy." Aurora let Tari take her in her arms.

Tari knelt in the ash, Aurora on her knee. She whispered soothing words in Aurora's ear while settling a glowing hand on the child's belly. Then the child cried out and vomited in the ash.

Tari rubbed Aurora's back, the dark circles under her eyes growing more pronounced in a matter of seconds. "I'm sorry, baby."

Aurora sat up, wiping her mouth. "It's okay, Mommy."

Ember squirmed out of Shiri's arms and joined Aurora, sucking on her thumb while wiping her sister's eyes. Tari looked so fetching holding the children, and I hoped we lived to see her holding my babe in her arms.

Ash removed the Tau stone from the vomit and handed it to Tari after wiping it on his fur. She pocketed it in her skirt.

"We'll have the servants at Abyssus make the stones into necklaces," Shiri said. She knelt down and grasped Aurora's shoulders, searching her eyes. "Can you transport all of us to Abyssus?"

"Wait!" Radnor puffed up his chest. "Let me finish off Nox." He nodded in the direction of the burned wyvern who resembled a lump of charcoal as he moaned on the ground.

"No!" Tari wagged a finger at him. "You kill him, and you kill Enso."

Radnor pawed the ground like a bull preparing to charge. "Then what do we do with him?"

"Take him with us," Shiri said with a grimace. "I will find a way to get the demon out of him."

"How," Blaze asked, "when we didn't get the book of names?"

"I know his name," Ember said as she pulled her thumb from her mouth. "My friends told me."

Shiri spun around, her mouth hitched up in a smile as she crossed back to Ember. "They told you his name?"

She eagerly nodded. "It's Admonoxus. And the bad demon witch's name is Megaera."

We collectively gasped. This changed everything.

"Then let's go," Ash said as he took the girls from Tari. The children didn't look frightened as they clung to their big, beastly father.

Blaze rubbed his hands together, excitement flaring in his eyes. "We will destroy these demons soon enough."